Hotels in Puerto Vallarta seek ‘Covid-safe’ designation

May 12, 2020

Puerto Vallarta wants to be known as virus-free.

With coronavirus restrictions expected to ease in June, hoteliers in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, are seeking to have the popular tourist destination certified as Covid-safe by the Ministry of Health.

The certification may help revive 2020 tourism numbers by increasing visitors’ confidence in sanitary measures that hotels and businesses are undertaking.

“We want Puerto Vallarta to be a safe Covid destination, and we have launched a Covid-safe campaign,” said Álvaro Garciarce Monraz, president of the Puerto Vallarta Hotel Association. The campaign will include hygiene protocols at points of entry, whether the arrivals be by air, land or sea, and a committee is currently being formed so that tourism providers can better coordinate with government authorities.

Currently, only five hotels in Puerto Vallarta remain partially open, but more are expected to open in stages with the hope that by December tourism numbers will start to recover.

Other destinations across Mexico are also developing coronavirus protocols and seeking Covid-safe certifications, including Cancún and Los Cabos.

The Riviera Maya Hotel Association (AHRM) is seeking certification from U.K.-based company Cristal International Standards which provides POSI-Check, an auditing system for the hospitality industry with strict protocols on hand-washing, swimming pool decontamination, infection control assessment and management of staff and guests in the event of an outbreak.

AHRM president Conrad Bergwerf stated that his association is adopting these protocols because “on the day hotels reopen their doors, clients will be much more sensitive to issues related to hygiene, cleanliness, disinfection and, in general, to security. For this reason, it will be essential to have security and hygiene programs and protocols to properly serve customers and build trust among our visitors.”